E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Sells 200 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB cut its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,956,684,000 after acquiring an additional 63,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,738,645,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $841,050,000 after acquiring an additional 302,453 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $752,980,000 after acquiring an additional 220,681 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCO. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.40.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $489.00 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.97 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $455.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $473.61.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.